Sula Vineyards' profit slumps for fifth straight quarter as Karnataka destocking hits Q3

India’s largest winemaker, Sula Vineyards Ltd., reported a sharp decline in net profit for the fifth consecutive quarter in the three months ended December 31. The company attributed the weak quarter—marked by a drop in revenue and EBITDA—to one-time tactical destocking in Karnataka, its second-largest market.

Net profit fell 67.5% year-on-year to ₹9.1 crore, compared with ₹28 crore in the same period last year.

Revenue for the quarter declined 9.6% YoY to ₹195.7 crore, down from ₹216.6 crore a year

ago. Operating performance also weakened sharply, with EBITDA dropping 40.2% YoY to ₹31.8 crore, compared with ₹52.2 crore in the year-ago quarter.

As a result, the company’s EBITDA margin contracted to 16.3%, from 24.6% in the corresponding quarter last year.

Wine tourism, which grew 34% YoY, has emerged as a promising growth frontier after at least five quarters of subdued performance. Sula Vineyards CEO Rajeev Samant said the company’s largest market, Maharashtra, is showing signs of recovery after a difficult year.

“Q3 was a challenging quarter, with performance primarily impacted by one-time tactical destocking undertaken in Karnataka, our second-largest market, with the objective of right-sizing channel inventory and optimising working capital amid subdued demand in Bangalore,” Samant said. “Excluding the one-time destocking impact, our Q3 revenue was in line with last year.”

In a separate regulatory filing, the company informed exchanges of a leadership change, appointing Gayathri Iyer as Company Secretary and Compliance Officer under the Listing Regulations. She will be part of the senior management personnel.

Shares of Sula Vineyards closed at ₹187.99, down 2.28% for the day on Friday.

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